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“Young master, the lord is only thinking of you.” Seeing the young master’s resentful expression, the more authoritative attendant quickly leaned closer to his ear and whispered reassuringly, “His Majesty’s appointment of the Prince of Wei to the position of Prefect of Mozhou is undoubtedly to wage war against Cai Yuanrong. Yuanrong is just a small country; with the might of our imperial cavalry, we can take it down without breaking a sweat. Although you are only a rank of Colonel now, won’t you have rendered a great service by taking down Yuanrong? When you return to the capital, won’t you be a Grand General?”

Upon hearing this, the young master's anger subsided considerably.

It turns out that this young master is Dai Xi, the only son of Dai Mingcheng, the Grand Chancellor of the current dynasty.

If you were to ask the common people of the dynasty what they thought of the current Grand Chancellor, everyone who knew Dai Mingcheng would answer with a resounding "good." Dai Mingcheng served as an official for over twenty years, rising step by step from a minor local official to the highest position of Grand Chancellor, not through scheming or climbing the ranks, but through his outstanding political achievements. In the provinces, he was a virtuous official praised by the people; in the capital, he was a trusted and capable minister relied upon by the emperor. In short, Dai Mingcheng was a man who had contributed greatly to the country and its people, yet, such a man failed to raise a good son.

Dai Xi was a typical spoiled brat, utterly ignorant and incompetent, lacking both literary and martial skills, but proficient in all vices. He swaggered around the capital, relying on his father's power, and while not exactly a target of divine wrath, he was universally disliked. When the governor of Mozhou was transferred, the emperor decreed that Prince Wei's heir, Huang Ye, would be appointed as the new governor. Dai Mingcheng then arranged for his son to hold the position of military officer and sent him to Mozhou. Firstly, he wanted his pampered son to experience hardship and learn some lessons in the relatively harsh and impoverished Mozhou. Secondly, he thought that leaving the capital and his protection might help his son curb his bad habits. Thirdly, Prince Wei's heir, Huang Ye, was a member of the royal family, and although young, he had a reputation for virtue in court; no matter how arrogant his son was, he wouldn't dare to contradict his superior. Following him, his son might learn to behave properly.

Although Dai Mingcheng had good intentions, his son had yet to show any sign of curbing his nature, becoming honest, or being willing to work hard. Huang Ye had originally set off from the capital with him, but along the way, this son of the Grand Chancellor proved even more pampered than Huang Ye, the son of a dragon and phoenix: he complained about the coarse and unpalatable food, the simple inns and hard beds, the sore buttocks from riding horses, the bumpy carriage ride, the excessive dust, and the bad weather…

Finally, the future King Wei, now the Prefect of Mozhou, out of consideration for the Grand Tutor's decades of unwavering loyalty to the dynasty, neither beat nor scolded the Grand Tutor's son, but simply left him behind and continued on his way. Thus, the Grand Tutor's son slowly made his way to Mozhou in a sedan chair, and after more than two months, he finally... was almost there.

Seeing that Dai Xi's expression had softened, the attendant continued, "Young master, please be patient for one more day. You'll be fine once you arrive in Mozhou City tomorrow. It's an important place in the prefecture, so it's naturally more prosperous. You'll definitely have everything you need there, and it won't be much worse than the capital."

"Hmph!" Dai Xi glanced at the food on the table, snorted, and stood up, clearly not wanting to eat.

Old An breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he had worked for nothing and lost money, he was willing to let the distinguished guest leave safely. He simply couldn't afford to serve such a son of an official.

Just as Dai Xi was about to leave, Lao An, for some reason, suddenly turned his head. Even though there was still a VIP in front of him who needed to be served with utmost care, Lao An couldn't help but look towards the door. In fact, it wasn't just Lao An; everyone in the entire hall, whether they were eating, picking up food, drinking tea, or drinking wine, couldn't help but look towards the door at that moment.

A woman walked in through the doorway, completely wrapped in a thick, silver-white cloak from head to toe. Because of her slender figure, she did not appear bulky. As she moved, a wisp of pale green skirt fluttered beneath the cloak, making her appear like a jade tree walking along the banks of green water.

The woman was probably very afraid of the cold, because she didn't take off the hood of her cloak after entering the shop. The hood was trimmed with a circle of snow-white fox fur, and the brim was pulled down very low, so the woman's eyebrows and eyes were almost completely hidden by the hood, making it impossible to see her face. But just the lower half of her face was enough to make everyone in the hall stare intently.

Because the boss was attending to a distinguished guest, a quick-thinking waiter had already stepped forward to greet the woman.

The woman sat down at a table by the window on the west side and said, "First, a pot of hot tea, and then three of your restaurant's signature dishes will do." Her voice was extremely clear, yet it carried an inexplicable allure. Even Old An, who was over fifty years old, felt his bones soften upon hearing it. Just by hearing her voice, it was not difficult for anyone to imagine the beauty of her face.

The waiter quickly brought the woman hot tea, and the guests in the lobby, having recovered from their shock, continued their meal. Dai Xi, who had already gotten up, sat down again at some point.

"Young master, would you like to eat this dish?" Old An asked cautiously.

"Eat...eat..." Dai Xi murmured, his eyes never leaving the woman since he had been staring at her. He picked up his chopsticks, grabbed something, and put it in his mouth, but judging from his expression, he probably didn't even know what he was eating.

Old An wasn't worried about that. Seeing that he was finally willing to eat, he breathed a sigh of relief, said "Enjoy your meal, sir," and went back to the counter.

After a while, the dishes the woman ordered arrived. She ate her meal by herself, seemingly oblivious to the gaze that Dai Xi was casting at her.

Old An, standing behind the counter, watched the two tables of customers with growing anxiety. The young master was eating without tasting anything, his eyes never leaving the woman, and then he glanced at the eight tall attendants standing around him... Sigh, Old An sighed inwardly, hoping nothing bad would happen.

The woman had three dishes on the table: a plate of spicy and sour pork liver, a plate of red pepper cured pork, and a plate of braised tofu. She seemed to be eating slowly and leisurely, but she ate quite quickly. In no time, she had eaten two bowls of rice and basically finished all three dishes.

"The food is delicious," the woman said, putting down her chopsticks.

The waiter serving nearby immediately beamed with joy, as if he had made the dishes himself: "I'm glad you like them, young lady. These dishes may seem ordinary, but they are our signature dishes. The chef has been cooking them for decades, so his skills are undoubtedly superb. Whenever customers come to our restaurant, they always order these three dishes."

The girl turned her head, a slight smile curving her lips, and instantly the waiter's head went hot and his heart pounded. Dai Xi, watching from a distance, felt that the smile was directed at him, and he became infatuated. He couldn't see the woman's features, but based on his years of experience with women, he knew she was an absolute beauty. Since leaving the capital, he hadn't indulged in any romantic affairs for a long time, and seeing this solitary woman now, how could he not be lustful?

Seeing the woman pay her bill and leave, Dai Xi gave a signal, and one of his followers stayed behind to pay the bill while the rest followed Dai Xi out of the shop.

After leaving the shop, the woman took the horse brought by the shop assistant, but instead of riding it, she led it slowly towards Mozhou. Dai Xi also stopped riding in the sedan chair and followed behind the woman. His attendants, understanding the situation, also led their horses and sedan chair bearers, carrying the empty sedan chair behind them.

After walking for half an hour, the roadside gradually became deserted, so Dai Xi quickened his pace to catch up with the woman and said, "Please wait, young lady." Meanwhile, his entourage subtly surrounded the woman from all sides.

Seeing this, the woman remained calm and stopped, asking, "What is it, young master?"

"May I ask where you are headed, young lady?" Dai Xi asked, adopting a polite demeanor.

"Where I go is none of your business," the woman said in a clear, alluring voice, though her tone was cold.

Dai Xi didn't take it to heart and said, "We just dined at the same restaurant and are now walking on the same road, so it's clear we're destined to meet. Since we're so connected, why are you being so distant?"

"Oh?" The woman's voice held a hint of amusement before she replied, "I'm going to Mozhou."

"What a coincidence!" Dai Xi clapped her hands and laughed. "I'm also going to Mozhou, so we can travel together."

"Is that so?" The woman's tone remained indifferent.

Dai Xi then said, "Riding a horse is too bumpy, and the long journey must be tiring. I happen to have a sedan chair here, so please take a ride, young lady."

"No need, thank you very much, young master," the woman declined.

“Yes, young lady, your delicate frame is more comfortable in a sedan chair,” Dai Xi advised with a smile. His eyes were fixed on the woman’s face. Although he couldn’t see her features clearly, he could tell from her fair, flawless skin that her appearance was definitely not bad. He would have to get intimate with her once they were in the sedan chair.

While Dai Xi was lost in thought, the woman let out a long sigh and murmured, "I used to flirt with so many beauties, but I never thought I'd be the one being flirted with today."

"What did you say, young lady?" Dai Xi leaned closer, not having heard clearly.

The woman looked up, and a strong gust of cold wind blew her hood off, revealing a stunningly beautiful face. Dai Xi was immediately stunned.

Seeing that the woman's hood had been removed, she frowned slightly. Glancing at the attendants surrounding her, she sighed again and cursed inwardly, "Damn fake immortal!"

This woman was none other than Lan Qi, the head of the Lan family. She made a bet with Ming Er to steal treasure from the palace, and Ming Er won. The condition for the second young master's victory was that "Seventh Young Master should travel the world as a weak woman for a year."

These conditions, seemingly ordinary, actually had two crucial flaws: first, Lan Qi had to appear in women's clothing; second, she had to seal her internal energy and travel the martial world as an ordinary person for a year. Both of these conditions greatly displeased Lan Qi. Regarding the former, although she often wore women's clothing, she had never worn it for a whole year. If it went on for too long, people in the martial world would probably start to think of her as a woman, and half the fun of switching between male and female would be lost. As for the latter, imagine how dangerous it would be for her to lose her martial arts skills for a year, given that she had enemies all over the world. That's why she had initially wanted to win so badly, but unfortunately lost, and in the end, she couldn't help but fiercely curse Ming Er for being insidious, despicable, and immoral. However, once she agreed to Ming Er's request, it was best not to give him any leverage over her, otherwise, who knew what other underhanded tricks that fake immortal might use. Therefore, Lan Qi could only appear in women's clothing for a year, and only five months had passed; seven months were still to go.

Looking at the spoiled young master in front of him, Lan Qi thought that in the past, he would have either punished him properly or made fun of him. But now he was powerless and might suffer if he did something wrong. It seemed that he would have to deal with him.

Lan Qi was thinking about whether she should agree to ride in his sedan chair first and then figure out how to deal with him on the way. Suddenly, "clatter clatter clatter..." came the sound of hooves. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a rider galloping towards her, with a dashing young man on his back.

Lan Qi's eyes darted around, and she said to Dai Xi, "Thank you for your kindness, young master. I'll be going now." With that, she walked away.

At this moment, Dai Xi was thanking God for bestowing such a celestial beauty upon him, a rare beauty with a pair of strange blue eyes. Upon hearing that the beauty was about to leave, he immediately reached out and grabbed her, while his entourage also gathered around.

As the young man on horseback drew closer, Lan Qi cried out, "Please have some self-respect, young master, and let me go!" He struggled to break free as he spoke.

Dai Xi was unwilling to let go, so he naturally pulled the beauty into his arms and said, "It is too dangerous for you to travel alone, young lady. It would be better if you came with me."

"Let me go!" Lan Qi struggled and shouted to the young man on horseback, "Young hero, save me!"

Sure enough, the horse stopped, and the boy on horseback looked at them. Seeing a group of big men surrounding a stunningly beautiful woman, the boy immediately thought of stories of "powerful tyrants and bullies abducting women," so he jumped off his horse and went over: "Let go of this girl!"

"Get out of here, kid. This is none of your business." A servant reached out and shoved the boy.

However, the attendant did not push the boy; instead, he was thrown several feet away by the boy's internal force and fell to the ground.

This sudden turn of events shocked Dai Xi and his entourage, who all stopped and looked at the young man. Lan Qi took the opportunity to break free from Dai Xi and retreat a few steps.

"Who are you?" an attendant asked as he stepped forward.

The young man raised his head and said, "You people are not worthy to know the name of this young hero."

The boy's attitude enraged Dai Xi: "You scoundrel! I am the son of the Grand Chancellor, how dare you presume to act arrogantly in front of me!"

Upon hearing this, the young man raised his thick eyebrows and exclaimed, "So it's the son of a corrupt official who abducted a woman! I'll rid the people of this scourge!" As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped up and punched Dai Xi in the face, causing Dai Xi's nose to bleed profusely.

Dai Xi had thought that mentioning his father would scare the boy away, so he was completely taken aback by the boy's actions. It wasn't until blood gushed from his nose that he belatedly cried out in pain, "Ouch! You brat... beat him to death!"

Upon receiving the order, the attendants immediately swarmed forward. These attendants were all skilled in martial arts, and compared to ordinary people, they were quite capable. However, in front of this young man, they were merely showing off their limited skills. After all, the young man came from a martial arts family and had diligently practiced martial arts since childhood. Even if his martial arts skills were not top-notch, they were many times superior to these attendants. Therefore, the young man did not need to take out his weapons. With just a few punches and kicks, he knocked all the attendants to the ground, leaving only Dai Xi standing there.

Seeing his followers lying on the ground, bruised and battered, Dai Xi felt a chill of fear. However, he was used to being arrogant and refused to back down. He forced himself to shout at the young man, "You...you brute dare to injure my followers! Do you know who I am? I am..." Before he could finish speaking, he was punched hard in the face again and collapsed unconscious.

The young man wiped his fists and looked disdainfully at Dai Xi on the ground: "I'm not afraid of this kind of mad dog-like shouting." After saying that, he turned to the followers on the ground and shouted: "Get out of here now! If you dare to do anything bad again, I will beat you every time I see you!"

The attendants knew they couldn't beat the boy, and any more words would only lead to trouble, so they quickly got up, carried Dai Xi away in a panic.

Watching the group of people leave in a disheveled state, Lan Qi thought to herself: "If it were any other day, if these people fell into my hands, I wouldn't have let them go unless I severed their arms and legs. This young man seems to lack ruthlessness." Of course, if he were ruthless enough, he wouldn't have saved her in the first place. Thinking this, Lan Qi turned to look at the young man, who was also looking at her, his bright, dark eyes filled with amazement.

Looking at the handsome young man, Lan Qi couldn't help but think of Ning Lang for a moment. They shared the same bright, spirited features, but this young man lacked Ning Lang's gentle kindness and instead possessed a flamboyant pride and sharpness. Just as she was wondering whether she should thank him, the young man suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Lan Qi, the Jade Demon!"

Lan Qi was stunned. She wondered to herself, "Who is this boy? How does he know her?"

The boy drew a weapon that resembled both a knife and a sword from behind him and shouted at Lan Qi, "Bi Yao, let's duel!"

Lan Qi glanced at the boy's strange weapon, a glint of light flashing in her green eyes, but she quickly concealed it, reverting to her frail and delicate appearance: "Young hero, I am but a weak woman with no strength to even kill a chicken, how could I possibly fight you?"

"Hmm?" The young man, disbelieving, jumped to her side, grabbed her wrist, and pressed her pulse for a while. He was disheartened; she indeed had no internal energy and was just an ordinary person. "Could I have mistaken her for someone else?" The young man still looked at Lan Qi, staring into her eyes. "Could it be that there are more than one pair of such emerald eyes in the world?"

Based on these words alone, Lan Qi knew that the young man had never seen her before. She immediately said, "I was born with eyes different from ordinary people. Since I was a child, I have suffered endless scorn and insults. I hate that I was born this way. Is there another person in this world who is just as unfortunate as me?" As she said this, Lan Qi's expression darkened, and she was about to cry.

Upon seeing her like this, the young man felt pity and quickly comforted her, "Don't be sad, I just mistook you for someone else." He then hurriedly put away his weapon, "Besides, the other blue-eyed man isn't so unfortunate. He's very powerful, and I'm going to find him for a duel."

Upon hearing this, Lan Qi raised an eyebrow: "Why does the young hero want to duel her?"

"Because I want to become famous, and the fastest way to become famous is to defeat a famous martial arts figure. This Bi Yao is very evil, and many people in the martial arts world dislike him. If I defeat him, I will damage his reputation, and he will not dare to bully others anymore." The young man said with a righteous expression.

Lan Qi's lips twitched upon hearing this, inwardly cursing the brat for his wild imagination, but on the surface he smiled and said, "I see. I just overheard some people talking about Bi Yao going to Mo Zhou at the inn where I was having my meal. I wonder if she is the person you mentioned, young hero."

"Huh? He went to Mozhou?" The boy jumped up again.

"That's what the people at the inn said just now," Lan Qi said.

"Oh, then I have to hurry back to Mozhou." The young man immediately turned around. But after taking only one step, he turned back to look at Lan Qi. Seeing her dark hair and snow-white face, she was exceptionally beautiful. He thought to himself that if he left her alone on this deserted road, she might encounter those lecherous men. Since he considered it his duty to uphold justice, he should help her to the end. So he said, "Where are you going? I'll take you there first."

Lan Qi smiled and said, "Thank you, young hero. I am also heading to Mozhou. I am alone on the road now, and I have no way to repay your life-saving grace, so I can only..."

Upon hearing this, the boy immediately recalled the stories in books about heroes rescuing beauties and the beauties repaying them with their bodies, and hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "You don't need to repay them with your body."

Lan Qi paused, looking at the boy.

The boy realized what he had done and his face turned red with embarrassment.

"Hahahaha..." Lan Qi couldn't help but burst into laughter that soared into the sky.

The young man looked at the woman before him, laughing heartily, both ashamed and embarrassed. Such laughter was normally extremely unladylike, but her unrestrained laughter and carefree demeanor were breathtakingly beautiful, making his heart pound. He thought to himself, "She's so beautiful, isn't she the legendary Yao Ji and Su E from the books? I saved her, I saved her..." For a moment, he even regretted saying, "You don't need to repay me with your body."

After a moment, Lan Qi stopped smiling and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you on your journey, young hero." With this young man as a companion, not only would he have bodyguards, but he wouldn't be bored along the way.

"No...no trouble at all." The boy turned around, his face flushed. "Let's go."

The two mounted their horses and slowly headed towards Mozhou.

The young man, still on horseback, asked again, "My name is Lin You. May I ask your name, young lady?"

Lan Qi chuckled inwardly, "Of course I know your surname is Lin: Young Master, you can just call me Feng Yi."

Huang Ye, the new prefect of Mozhou, had been in office for more than half a month. On this day, he changed into civilian clothes, took a few attendants, and went out into the streets to observe the people's conditions.

When Huang Ye emerged, it was still past 9 AM. After wandering around the city for a while, it became noon. He casually entered a restaurant called Hongfulou, intending to have lunch. The waiters, having seen countless guests from all over, had sharp eyes and could instantly tell which guests were important. So, as soon as Huang Ye and his companions entered, a waiter warmly greeted them. Seeing that there were many customers downstairs, he immediately led them upstairs, picked out a table for them facing the street, and wiped it clean several times.

After Huang Ye sat down, he simply turned his head to look at the street outside the window, leaving the rest to his attendants. However, as soon as he sat down, he felt eyes scanning him back and forth.

"Oh my, what a beauty!" A voice of admiration came from the other side. Although the voice was not loud, Huang Ye had been practicing martial arts since childhood and his hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people, so he heard it clearly. Moreover, the voice was extremely clear and charming, and it even sounded like a woman's voice.

“It’s very handsome,” another boy’s voice rang out, “but he’s a man.”

"Beauty transcends gender, and besides, such beauty is something we rarely see in our lives," the woman added.

Huang Ye frowned upon hearing this. He had been extremely handsome since childhood, and everyone in the royal family said he looked exactly like their ancestor—Empress Chunran, who was once known as the most beautiful woman in the Eastern Dynasty. However, it was not a good thing for a grown man to have a woman's beautiful face, so this face became his sore spot, and those who knew him tried their best to avoid mentioning it in front of him.

"His face is stunningly beautiful, and his brows exude a masculine air. Such a beauty is unparalleled in the world." The woman was still sighing, "I really want to take him home."